


Linger Just a Little Bit Longer

by astralfreckles



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Break Up, F/M, Flashbacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-21 21:50:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9568364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralfreckles/pseuds/astralfreckles
Summary: "Maybe it’s not wise to wish for what you once had, but Riley would still give anything to go back in time to when Farkle was hers."





	

**Author's Note:**

> Truthfully, it has been hard for me to write lately. It’s not necessarily because of a lack of inspiration. Riarkle always gives me inspiration. I think the cancellation just really got to me and halted my motivation. In addition to that, I’ve been feeling a little lonely and have been reminiscing about people in my past, and today I listened to “She Used to Be Mine” by Sara Bareilles on repeat, so this is what came of that. I know it’s not the high-spirited story you guys probably anticipate to counteract the cancellation and current fight to save the show, but it was therapeutic for me to write. Plus, I have a 10,000+ word fic in the works and hope to get that done soon.
> 
> The fic is an aged-up AU, taking place after college. I’m going to go ahead and say Farkle could be considered a little OOC at the end.

Riley opens the door to her Upper East Side apartment and slowly walks in. Her eyes blankly sweep the small space, and she sighs as she hangs her coat up. She kicks her heels off and leaves them abandoned by the door. Her days as a teacher are fulfilling, but by the end of the day, she’s exhausted, more emotionally than physically. She’s learned that one of the biggest parts of teaching children is acting. Putting on a smile in the morning before they walk through the classroom door even if you cried yourself to sleep the night before is tough.

But that’s just part of it. Money is tight; lord knows teachers don’t have the best salaries. It didn’t used to be a problem when Riley wasn’t the only one living in the apartment, but now that she’s alone, some months she’s lucky just to get by. She knows that she could just ask her parents for help, but she would rather keep up the façade that she is actually doing okay even though it’s the farthest thing from the truth.

Riley walks into the kitchen and stares at the refrigerator. Her eyes are met with an old picture as her hand grasps the handle. It’s of her and her best friends last year from when they helped her and Farkle move into the apartment. In the picture, Farkle is kissing her cheek and she’s smiling. Riley remembers the morning after the move, when all of their things were still packed in the boxes.

_“Morning,” Farkle says as he hands Riley a cup of coffee and gets back into bed where she is. His nestles into the sheets and lets his legs tangle with hers._

_“Morning,” Riley echoes in a sleepy voice. She takes a sip of her coffee and then rests her head on his shoulder._

_“This feels sort of surreal. Waking up with you. Drinking coffee with you,” he pauses for a second so he can lift her chin up and look at her, “and being able to do this.” He kisses her softly, tasting the sweetness of the French vanilla coffee on her lips._

_Riley pulls back, takes Farkle’s mug from his hand, and places both of theirs on the nightstand._

_“Yes, we can do that all we want. Over and over and over…” Her words trail off as she moves in for another kiss._

She feels a twinge in her heart and lets go of the handle. She should really take the picture down, but she hasn’t been able to yet. It lets her believe, even just for a minute, that she’s still his. Maybe it’s not wise to wish for what you once had, but she’d still give anything to go back to that time.

Riley sits down at the kitchen table and lays her forehead on it. The wood feels cold against her skin, but her memories of this space are warm.

_“Tell me what you think,” Farkle says with a smile as he hands Riley a plate of spaghetti._

_“It looks great,” Riley tells him. She picks up her fork, but before she starts eating, she looks across the table at Farkle and watches as he tests out the spaghetti. His face signifies that he’s pleased with his creation. Riley smirks at his reaction and looks over at the other two seats situated at the table. They’re empty, but Riley’s mind imagines that they’re filled, one by a small boy and the other a girl. She pictures their faces, also smiling as they would take their first bites. Her heart swells at the thought, and she suddenly drops her fork and looks up at Farkle in wonder._

_“I love you,” she lets out all in one, quick breath._

_Farkle chuckles and teases, “Is the pasta that good?” He lifts his fork to his mouth and glances at Riley, still staring at him in awe. He gives her a concerned look and asks, “Are you okay?”_

_“Farkle Minkus, I am completely in love with you.”_

_Farkle gets up from his seat and walks over to Riley. Once he’s standing in front of her, he grabs her hand, gently lifts her up from her seat, and pulls her into a hug._

_“And I love you,” he replies, “more than I can put into words.”_

Tears start to form in Riley's eyes as she stops the memory short in her mind, but she fights them back. She knows she doesn’t have to. No one else is there in the apartment with her, so it’s not like she has to hide her feelings, but maybe that’s exactly why she won’t let them fall. If she did, they would become a confession of her loneliness.

Riley gets up from her seat at the table and walks toward the bathroom. Her hand grazes the lavender wall as she moves through the hallway.

She can’t remember exactly when it started, the small disagreements here and there becoming frequent arguments filled with passive aggressive words and hostile looks, but she does remember when it ended. She remembers when _they_ ended.

_"I don’t think I can do this anymore,” Farkle sighs in frustration. Riley’s eyes start to tear, and she quickly turns her head to the side so he won’t see. She focuses on the soft lavender color she picked out just a few months ago, trying to find comfort in it as Farkle takes a moment to breathe, but then he relentlessly continues. “We’re not the same people that we used to be. Things change, and—”_

_“People grow?” Riley interrupts with a condescending tone, referencing what they had learned so long ago from her father._

_“Don’t, Riley. Don’t you dare,” he threatens, knowing exactly what she means. “It’s just gotten so predictable.”_

_“Me?”_

_“No, us. This. This relationship.” Every word is accentuated as his voice raises and gets harsher._

_“What if I don’t feel that way? What if I’m prepared to spend the rest of my life with you?” she asks in a calm, quiet voice._

_“And what if I’m not?” Farkle counters. He turns sharply and walks toward the door of their apartment, leaving Riley alone and in complete disbelief._

After washing up, Riley enters her bedroom and lays her head on the pillow. She closes her eyes immediately, not allowing herself to catch a glimpse of the watch Farkle left and never came back for that’s still on the nightstand. She doesn’t want to look at it, but she also hasn’t been able to get rid of it.

As long as she doesn’t look, it will be one less memory she’ll have to recall, at least today.


End file.
